Yukteswar Giri - Biography

Biography

Yukteswar was born Priyanath Karar in Serampore, India to Kshetranath Karar and Kadambini. Priyanath lost his father at a young age, and took on much of the responsibility for managing his family's land holdings. A bright student, he passed the entrance exams and enrolled in Srirampur Christian Missionary College, where he developed an interest in the Bible. This interest would later express itself in his book, The Holy Science, which discusses the unity behind the scientific principles underlying Yoga and the Bible. He also attended Calcutta Medical College (then affiliated with the University of Calcutta) for almost two years.

After leaving college, Priyanath married and had a daughter. His wife died a few years after their marriage, and he eventually was formally intitiated into the monastic Swami order as "Sriyuktesvar Giri" (note: thus 'Sri' is not a separate honorific, but part of his given name). "...many follow the usual procedure (for writing or saying someone's name informally) and drop the "Sri" and say only "Yukteshvar", but this is not correct. If one wants to put a "Sri" at the beginning as in the prevalent fashion, then his name would look as: "Sri Sriyukteswar Giri".

In 1884, Priyanath met Lahiri Mahasaya, who became his Guru and initiated him into the path of Kriya Yoga. Yukteswar spent a great deal of time in the next several years in the company of his guru, often visiting Lahiri Mahasaya in Benares. In 1894, while attending the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad, he met the Guru of Lahiri Mahasaya, Mahavatar Babaji, who asked Yukteswar to write a book comparing Hindu scriptures and the Christian bible. Mahavatar Babaji also bestowed on Yukteswar the title of 'Swami' at that meeting. Yukteswar completed the requested book in 1894, naming it Kaivalya Darsanam, or The Holy Science.